Silence
by The Rusty One
Summary: Change on Dinotopia is tough. chapter 8 up! Some drug references early on.
1. Sauropolis

*A/N: I don't own the concept of Dinotopia, I just play in it. All original characters are mine, so please as before using them. Way OOC for Dinotopia. Rated PG-13 for a possible occurrence of swearing, and some drug references. I don't condone what's being done here. Any similarities between characters and real life are coincidental. BD, SP*  
  
"Silence," Chapter One  
  
Sauropolis  
  
Anthony scoffed at the Dinotopian way of life. The people here led a life of ease and comfort and ignorance. They lived completely without the amenities of the Outside World. They used grass or wood as fuel. Rarely did they burn even coal. Gasoline and automobiles were the things of science fiction; the things of the ancient society of Posidos. He couldn't go to the movies, as they didn't exist. Dinotopia existed in a completely different era.  
  
And Dinotopians were defenseless. Rarely did they carry a weapon. Anthony carried a small knife out of sheer habit. And still, they incessantly nagged. "Weapons are enemies, even to their owners," they'd tell him. His response, "Then here are my weapons, my empty hands."  
  
Anthony hated it.  
  
But he wasn't alone. A small collection of fellow dolphinbacks and a few natives enchanted by the tales of the dolphinbacks about the Outside, they all found their way together, in the Underground. Here, they could talk and discuss freely what they felt. Practice what they believed. Anthony didn't feel left out here. Here he could live the pace he lived in the Outside World, enjoy what he did in the Outside World without inane creeds being spouted at him.  
  
"Eat to live, don't live to eat," He laughed as he took a bite of a ripe fruit that was considered a delicacy on the Island. Marrietta, a fellow dolphinback, had liberated it from a fruit vendor on the streets with the promise to plant the seeds in return.  
  
On Dinotopia, it was hard to steal. Everything had a price of manual labor or a trade of some sort. To steal was to make empty promises. To make empty promises, you didn't cheat anyone out of money. Dinotopians don't use currency, thus it is hard to steal anything.  
  
"Watch it there, 'Tony, don't want the proper-patrol on you again." Marrietta laughed in return.  
  
"They know where they can shove it. I told them yesterday." Anthony said, spitting one of the seeds on the ground.  
  
"Ah, they'll never let you be, will they, 'Tony?" A black-haired native asked.  
  
"Nope. Hey, 'Vonne, why'd you find us out, anyway? You're a native." Anthony looked quizzically at the native.  
  
She brushed a strand of purple away from her pale face and re-set it amongst the black sea of hair. "I'm a Goth. I just don't fit into normal society. At least, that's what Yellow told me."  
  
"I see your point." Anthony grunted, looking Yvonne over, from her mess of dyed black and purple hair, over her paled face and black pouty lips to the sexy halter-top and long black skirt that lay on her thin frame almost perfectly.  
  
His gaze was turned towards the ceiling of the Underground as a few small birds escaped to the outside air. The whole Underground complex was a series of catacombs below the streets of Sauropolis where the humans and saurians of ages past buried their dead. Where it once was a sacred place, they had given up the tangle of tunnels for mausoleums above ground. Falling into disarray, the group found the secret entrances and penetrated deep underground. Those who were scorned by society outside or they who refused to accept it were welcome. The Underground was a place to find commonalities.  
  
The rumble of skateboard wheels on the cobbles of catacombs hailed Chad's arrival to the party. Chad hopped off the board and smoothly landed in a chair that had been set up. His frame was well-muscled, resting at over six feet tall. Outside, he was skilled on the skateboard, here, he was yelled at for practicing his passion. He settled his hair with one hand and held out another to Yvonne.  
  
"Good to see you, Chad." Yvonne said, slipping into his lap.  
  
"Yellow must hate me. He gave me bad scores for no reason. My family checked over my work and said it was alright." Chad grumbled, wrapping an arm around Yvonne's waist. "At least we're in the same boat, 'Vonne."  
  
"Yellow is a horrible little dinosaur." Yvonne said.  
  
"We could do something about that." Anthony grinned, leaning heavily on the back of the chair Chad and Yvonne lounged in.  
  
"What are you thinking, 'Tony. That's a mischievous grin you've got there." Marrietta said, coming up behind him.  
  
"Marr, why do you always gotta think I'm plotting something?" Anthony smiled and looked up at the frescoed ceiling. "Well, I am plotting this time."  
  
"Give, 'Tony." Marrietta poked gently at Anthony's side.  
  
"Yeah, spill it, dude. You know I hate secrets!" Chad encouraged.  
  
"Maybe. Just maybe, we could." Anthony smiled. "Naw.you guys wouldn't go along with it."  
  
"Bastard! Just tell us!" Yvonne said.  
  
"Fine then. I'm thinking we could take over this place." Anthony was grinning, and yet, looked thoughtful  
  
"Over Sauropolis?" Marrieta asked.  
  
"Well, yes, but think, the whole stinkin' Island! We can change it to suit us! Finally be accepted!" Anthony moved away.  
  
"What gave you that crazy idea, 'Tony?" Yvonne asked.  
  
"Dinotopians are push-overs. They're peaceful and easy to control. We've all tried it. And on my recent trip to Chandara, I found they have some unhappy citizens there as well. What do you say; we connect with the Chandarans and plot?"  
  
"We can try. How're we gonna get a hold of them, anyway?" Yvonne was smiling.  
  
"Dimorphodon, of course." Anthony shrugged. "Or we could take a trip there."  
  
"I have always wanted to visit Chandara." Marrietta said.  
  
"I'll go with you, Marr. There's about six of them out there. There may be some in Waterfall City and Pooktook." Anthony walked to the door of the chamber they were in. Faint sunlight peeked through the cracks in the walls and ceiling.  
  
"Imagine it." Anthony said, turning suddenly, grin gracing his face. He walked back towards the group. "We can make Dinotopia a-new! We can bring all the amenities we love to this land. We'll have cars! And plastics! Oh, even the simple things I miss!"  
  
"I could finally hear some of the Outside's music. I know many dolphinbacks who have CDs but nothing to play them with." Yvonne said, cracking a smile.  
  
"So when should we leave?" Marrietta asked, making for the door. "I can get us rations. It's really not that hard."  
  
"That'd be wonderful." Anthony said. "Maybe I can convince Silver to take us there. I'll just borrow a cart."  
  
"Silver? Who's what?" Chad asked.  
  
"Silver is a Triceratops I know. He lives in the north of the city. He used to travel the paths often. I'm sure if we offered to do things around his place he'd help us out." Anthony said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm leaving now. Dinner calls me out." He smiled and left.  
  
"I'm with him." Marrietta said, following close behind.  
  
"You goin, 'Vonne?" Chad asked the little Goth.  
  
"Not sure. I think I may try to find someone with some good acid. Nothing like that bullshit I got last week. That was trash. Wanna come along?" She asked, hopping off Chad's lap and extending a pale hand.  
  
"'Vonne, you know I hate that stuff." Chad shook his head. "But I can come to laugh at you, if you'd like."  
  
"That'd be good." Yvonne smiled as she walked deeper into the catacombs. 


	2. Chandara

*A/N: I don't own the concept of Dinotopia, I just play in it. All original characters are mine, so please as before using them. Way OOC for Dinotopia. Rated PG-13 for a possible occurrence of swearing, and some drug references. I don't condone what's being done here. Any similarities between characters and real life are coincidental. BD, SP*  
  
"Silence," Chapter 2  
Chandara  
  
"Hey Bran, Dimorph for you!" A shocking blonde called up the stairs of a small row-house in the city of Chandara.  
  
"Who is it from?" Andraste Bran called back from his room.  
  
"Someone named Anthony, from Sauropolis." The blonde called back. She moved up a few steps. "Let him up?"  
  
The creaking of Andraste's door opening gave the blonde her answer. "Third door to the left." She told the little blue Dimorphodon before letting it go to fly up the stairs and disappear.  
  
"What's your message?" Andraste asked the messenger when it came to an uneasy landing on his bed-post.  
  
The Dimorphodon cleared his throat. "Bran, this is 'Tony, from Sauropolis. Me and a few of my crew are leaving tomorrow. We have some business you'll be interested in." The Dimorphodon stopped and looked at the teen. Andraste handed him a fruit and a small dish of water and opened the window.  
  
"Thanks." He said, turning back to his desk. Anthony and his crew would be coming in at least a day. Hope they knew to go to the Warehouse. Standing up, he tossed his head, flicking his brown hair away from his eyes. Grabbing his small pack that he kept his notebook and sketch book in, he ran down the stairs.  
  
"Where are you going Bran?" The blonde asked.  
  
"Out with my friends." Andraste said. "Later mom." He hopped down the steps of the house and ran down the street towards the Warehouse.  
  
"He's always like that?" The blonde asked.  
  
"Yes. Sorry about that, Amy." Andraste's mother said, sighing and putting a tray of cookies in the small wood-burning stove. She cast a glance after her son and turned to the blonde "He's probably late for something he and his friends do."  
  
Running down various side-alleyways in the city, he made sure no one tried to follow him. At last, he reached a hollow skeleton of Chandara's brief industrial age; a crumbling warehouse, wrought iron gates and fence guarding the complex. Cranes loomed like sleeping sauropods over the grounds, never to be woken. Andraste slipped through the small gap in the gates and went up to a side door and pounded on it three times with his fist. With a groan, the door swung inwards and Andraste slipped inside.  
  
"Bran! Finally been released, I see?" A small black girl chirped.  
  
"I wasn't captive." Andraste said, brushing back a fragment of brown hair. "Just stuck with chores. Anyway, where are the rest of them, Cassie?"  
  
"Out getting food. Why? Sudden meeting?" The girl asked.  
  
"More of, we'll have visitors in a few days. Group of folks from Sauropolis, all friends, all like us." Adraste sat down in a large chair that had been set in the corner. Nearby was a table that was ready to fall apart at any moment, but it was still used as storage for papers and such that were necessary.  
  
"People that dislike this wretched Island, who would have thought they found each other." Cassie said lightly, wrapping her arms around herself. "Any idea where they meet in Sauropolis?"  
  
"In the catacombs. I hear they're extensive and rarely used by anyone any more. Same with the ones in Pooktook." Andraste answered, cracking a slight smile.  
  
"Why are you smiling, Bran? You hardly ever smile." Cassie looked at him.  
  
"Just thinking what Anthony could want." Andraste said. "He's an ambitious dolphinback. I just hope he thinks before he acts." 


	3. Road to Chandara

*A/N: I don't own the concept of Dinotopia, I just play in it. All original characters are mine, so please as before using them. Way OOC for Dinotopia. Rated PG-13 for a possible occurrence of swearing, and some drug references. I don't condone what's being done here. Any similarities between characters and real life are coincidental. BD, SP*  
  
"Silence," Chapter 3  
  
Road to Chandara Silver grunted as Anthony gave him the order to keep moving over the Flats.  
  
"Maybe you should let Silver rest, 'Tony." Yvonne suggested. "He looks pretty tired."  
  
"We've got to reach Chandara." Anthony shook his head.  
  
"Don't be dumb! It's only one dinosaur! Let the poor beast have a rest!" Yvonne bristled slightly.  
  
Not wanting a confrontation, Anthony obliged and let the saurian rest in the shade of a few scrubby trees.  
  
"It'll be dark soon, anyway, 'Tony. We should set up camp." Marrietta said, gently hopping off the cart and grabbing a few things from the rations bag.  
  
"What's for dinner tonight, Marr?" Chad asked, watching her move.  
  
"Stew and fruit. If you want something different, make it yourself." Marrietta said defensively. She noticed Chad watching her and felt uneasy.  
  
"Whatever." He shrugged and lay back in the grass, hands behind his head.  
  
Soon, Marrietta had a dried fish and potato stew boiling in a black pot. Anthony had wandered off, but came stalking back when he caught wind of dinner.  
  
"Damn these primitive people. Don't they know about good roads?" Anthony swore to himself under his breath. "Nothing better than these damn cart tracks which are hard to see. Damn it all!"  
  
"Come on, 'Tony. Have some dinner and sleep. We'll probably reach Chandara tomorrow or so." Marrietta said soothingly, placing her hands on Anthony's shoulders. He sighed and took a small wooden bowl filled with the stew, ate it slowly, chewed on a piece of bread and fell asleep.  
  
Yvonne wandered off into the grasses with Chad after the meal and Marrietta was left to clean up. 


	4. Chadara

*A/N: I don't own the concept of Dinotopia, I just play in it. All original characters are mine, so please as before using them. Way OOC for Dinotopia. Rated PG-13 for a possible occurrence of swearing, and some drug references. I don't condone what's being done here. Any similarities between characters and real life are coincidental. BD, SP*  
"Silence," chapter 4  
  
Chandara  
  
"Hey Cassie, where's Slayer?" Andraste called out from a catwalk high above the floor of the warehouse. He was busy hanging a tie-dyed sheet as a decoration.  
  
"Don't know. Out with Morgan, I would think." Cassie called back. She craned her head skyward. "Looks nice, Bran. Are Kelli and Jet gonna put something up?"  
  
"Well if Slayer is out with Morgan, she might come back slightly bruised. You know how they get when they think Morgan is a Neo-Nazi." Andraste sighed. "And yes, they said they'd bring something. This place is so bland."  
  
"I thought you liked bland." Cassie giggled.  
  
"Not the places I inhabit. Thus the tie-dye." Andraste tied the last string holding the sheet up. He stood up. "I really hope Morgan and Slayer are alright. You remember Morgan's first encounter with these people."  
  
"Yes," Cassie hung her head. "He came here so bloodied from someone beating him up for looking like one. I think that's where his dissent for American Dinotopians came from, because the ones who attacked him were still prejudiced against Nazi and Neo-Nazis."  
  
"But we know he isn't." A female voice with a slight southern twang chirped from the door in the corner.  
  
"Slayer, you're back." Andraste called from the catwalks. He was beginning to make his way down.  
  
"Yeah. Morgan and I went to his place to hang out for a little. No one decided to assault him today. He'll be over in a few." Slayer made her way to the couch that was set up below the catwalks.  
  
"You bleach your hair again? It's whiter than normal." Andraste asked, coming down the stairs.  
  
"No. Must be the lighting."  
  
"Ah." Adraste looked surprised suddenly. "Crap! Those people from Sauropolis are coming today!" He hurried down the stairs and ran out of the building.  
  
"What?" Slayer asked Cassie.  
  
Cassie shrugged, "Don't know. I guess we're having guests."  
  
Slayer looked around, "I supposed we should organize a little?"  
  
Cassie followed her gaze, "No, looks fine to me. Hey, Slayer, how'd you get your nickname?"  
  
"Oh yeah, I never explained it to you, did I? Well, in the Outside World, I was completely obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So kids in my high school started calling me Slayer, and it stuck. Everyone now calls me Slayer; even Morgan rarely uses my real name."  
  
"Oh. I remember watching a couple of episodes. It was good."  
  
"Love it." Slayer looked around. "Do we have any more cushions here?"  
  
"Don't think so. Wanna go get some from my house?" Cassie suggested.  
  
"Sure." The two walked out and went to Cassie's house. The family she lived with had many cushions in their rooms and enjoyed comfort.  
  
Just a few minutes after Cassie and Slayer left, Andraste came back with Anthony, Marrietta, Yvonne, and Chad.  
  
"What the hell. Where'd those two go?" Andraste grumbled when he led the Sauropolis group in.  
  
"Who?" Anthony asked.  
  
"Cassie and Slayer. I guess they went off somewhere. Just an inconvenience."  
  
"Pretty nice place you've got. Better than those dusty catacombs." Marrietta said.  
  
"The catacombs are nice." Yvonne said with a smile, matched by Chad's.  
  
"To you, maybe." Marrietta shrugged.  
  
"Well, Anthony, shall we go discuss your plans?" Andraste said, gesturing towards a soft chair.  
  
"Sure," Anthony shrugged and sat down. "What would you say to the chance of controlling Dinotopia the way we want it? The chance to live with all the wonders of the Outside World, would you take it? I've been thinking. Utilizing the fear of Dinotopians, we could take control and overthrow those musty old Elders. We could make Dinotopia great. Best of all, we dolphinbacks could see our families again."  
  
"How the hell are you going to pull that of, Anthony?" Andraste said, looking slightly confused.  
  
"Fire and carnivores. Fire will destroy their homes and lives. We save the crops, but make it so they have to beg us to save them. And the carnivores, well, we can attack with them and dramatically come from the shadows and cast them back. Kind of like in those drama scrolls where the hero comes from nowhere, and everyone bows to him." Anthony leaned forward with a grin.  
  
"That's a long shot, Anthony. It'll take lots of planning." Andraste rolled his eyes and sighed. "Give me a few days to think on it." He paused, "How the hell would you get the carnivores to cooperate, anyway?"  
  
"I have someone who'd help me. She lives just on the borders of the Basin and has befriended many of the clans who dwell there. She gets free passage when she wants and protection. They call her Tzaaki, or Butterfly."  
  
"Tzaaki? What dialect is that?" Marrietta wondered.  
  
"Universal. Apparently, there's a dialect that not even the translators know that is used for inter-clan negotiating. I think Butterfly is the only human to have learned it. Well, most of it. A majority of the language is still barely pronounceable to humans." Anthony said with a smile.  
  
"Maybe they made it for her, so she could talk to them." Andraste shrugged. "But it seems you've thought some of this through already."  
  
"Some of it. I wanted to see if you will join me before I start mulling over it."  
  
"Hey, Slayer, the door's open. Wonder if Bran made it back." Cassie said from the door. She and Slayer came in carrying armloads of cushions.  
  
Slayer looked over to where Andraste and Anthony were sitting. "Yep, they made it back. And he brought friends."  
  
Cassie dumped her armload onto the floor. "So I guess these are those people from Sauropolis that you ran out today for?"  
  
"Yeah." Andraste said. "Where's Jet, Kelli, and Morgan, and why did you bring those cushions?"  
  
"Don't know. My guess is that Jet and Kelli are training. As for Morgan, he's MIA. We grabbed the cushions so our guests would be more comfortable." Slayer said, dropping her armload onto Cassie's pile. "Her family has enough that they didn't mind us taking a few."  
  
"Uh huh." Andraste looked at the two girls. "Well, I guess we should all do some introductions. Kelli, Jet, and Morgan will just have to introduce themselves later."  
  
"Andraste Bran, here to make the world a little weirder by the minute," Andraste put his hand to his chest and bowed his head. "Little blonde one is Slayer, the other is Cassie."  
  
Anthony nodded, "Anthony here. Marrietta is the cute one to my right, Yvonne is the dark one, and Chad is the other." The others nodded as they were introduced. 


	5. The Basin's Butterfly

*A/N: Again, the copyright stuff applies here, e-mail me if you want to use a character, and please REVIEW! Us authors love reviews, it tells us that our plot bunnies were successful!*  
  
The Basin's Butterfly  
  
Tzaaki sat in the branches of an old tree, waiting for something to arrive. To any civilized Dinotopian, she looks would seem wild and unkempt. She was the descendent of one of the original Middle Eastern tribes to arrive on the Island. Her chocolate eyes matched her hair, wildly thrown about by a life in the Basin. Her clothes clung tightly to her body, hand-sewn from fabric she gathered from ambushed caravans. Once, she lived a normal life, but fate changed it all and threw her headfirst into the Basin with nowhere to go. She won't divulge where she once lived, but a fire wiped out her town, and took the lives of her parents. From the burns she sustained, she became feverish and wandered into the Basin, keeping close to a stream. She eventually passed out.  
  
Her first experience with the carnivores was on the edge of a knife. She just barely knew how to act properly, if she slipped up, the two young Giganotosaurs that found her would have killed her. She growled lightly, a sign that she was indeed alive, and managed a submissive balk. This pleased youngsters and they trotted off only to return with their father, a Giganotosaurus with bright green skin and yellow and purple splotches. He was Standtall, son of Stinktooth, the Giganotosaurus who let Arthur pass so very long ago. Persuaded by his children, he took the girl back to his mate, Firestorm. In keeping with the family tradition, Standtall had terrible breath as well, but Tzaaki would never mention it, in fear of retaliation.  
  
Firestorm took pity on the small creature, lost and reeking of the infection ravaging her body. The female Giganotosaurus carefully collected herbs from the forest, and crushed them with her claw into a fine paste, and with the gentlest touch, applied them to Tzaaki's back, where the burns were the worst. She kept the children at bay, as well as her mate, and cooked whatever food they brought for the human, much to the disgust of her mate.  
  
When Tzaaki was well enough to walk around, they took her on tours. They taught her the paths of the Basin, the names of plants and animals. She learned the words of the carnivores. They taught her the Gods and Goddesses they worshipped, all of warring and prosperity. She began calling herself Tzaaki, meaning "Butterfly," as it was the simplest word in the vocabulary, and one that didn't need any sort of guttural growl. Once named, she was accepted in her foster family's home range. They had made the effort to teach a human the Universal Language, so that she could wander freely and say she was a friend of Standtall.  
  
And now she waited for word on what she would be doing to the world she left.  
  
There was the high-pitch call of the Skybax and riders that patrolled the area, watching for any attacks. The birds in the trees chattered to each other, and far away, the rain dripped off the large leaves of the canopy. She waited patiently, almost in a trance, listening to the rhythms of the forest around her.  
  
After what seemed like hours, she heard the squawk of the Dimorphodon she was waiting for. She called to it, leaning forward so she didn't blend in as much, and the small Pterosaur lighted next to her.  
  
"Message for Tzaaki." It chirped, "From Anthony. 'I am in Chandara. Send me a message if you are coming. I sent this messenger with a note as well, as it would be too long to say here.'" The small messenger shook it's head and handed her a parchment, folded and rolled enough to fit in the pouch the Dimorphodon carried.  
  
"No return message. Thank you." Tzaaki said in her best Dinotopian, and handed the small messenger a treat. It flew off back in the direction from where it had come. Her Dinotopian was very poor due to the years of not speaking it regularly.  
  
She leaned back against the trunk of the tree, and unfolded the note. It outlined Anthony's original plan, and Tzaaki's role in it. She was to rally the carnivores against the Dinotopian people and have them attack when Anthony said so. He mentioned something about setting fire to a few cities as well. She refolded the paper and went back to meditating in the calm forest.  
  
A slight snuffling sound broke her peace and she looked down. The noise belonged to the broad, pinkish nose of her younger "brother," Grandtooth.  
  
"Grandtooth, what are you doing?" She touched her "brother" on the tip of the snout.  
  
"Looking for you." He answered, opening his jaws slightly, letting Tzaaki climb inside. "Caravan attack soon."  
  
He turned and took Tzaaki back to her home range, dropping her in the wide nest then leaving again. She strapped her knife to her belt.  
  
"I heard the Skybax, a caravan is coming by?" She asked Firestorm.  
  
"Yes, Standtall is taking Grandtooth on his first raid. They are meeting a few others of Brassclaw's family." Firestorm leaned over and nudged her human daughter with her snout. "There is no need for the knife."  
  
"Alright." Tzaaki unclipped the knife. "I recieved a message from a human in Chandara. He wants me to help destroy some of the humans. He asks for our help. He says that if he succeeds, he'll release us from the forest and let us return to our original ranges."  
  
"Really? I remember my mother telling me about the home range of my family. We once lived where those raptors reside today." Firestorm closed her eyes and sighed. "But disrupting life now would be confusing. We are so accustomed to the areas we are now, however, it would let the raptors return to their ranges in the Plains and Desert."  
  
"Yes. Pesky raptors." Tzaaki sighed. "Mother. May I go to Chandara to find this human?"  
  
Firestorm looked surprised. "Yes. Will you come back to us?"  
  
"Of course!" Tzaaki re-clipped the knife to her belt and hugged her saurian mother on the leg.  
  
"Tzaaki? Would you like Short Hop to prepare you food for the travel? I know how much you enjoy the smoked and dried meats and fruits. I believe he has some." Firestorm said, before her daughter could run too far.  
  
"Yes! That is one raptor that isn't pesky!" Tzaaki said, heading off towards the raptor's den.  
  
"Breathe deep, run fast! Good luck!" Firestorm called, watching her daughter leave. How strange was it that she loved a human as she loves her own offspring? Her heritage guaranteed her safety. Her spirit never died or was crushed. Before she had chosen Tzaaki for herself, Firestorm wanted to name her Phoenix Spirit. She had heard stories of the Phoenix in the Outside World, the spirit that arises from it's own ashes, most powerful of all. Firestorm settled down in the nest for a rest, thinking of her little human daughter. No, she wasn't human; she was a Giganotosaurus, trapped in a human body. 


	6. Journeys

*A/N: Blah blah blah, all that copyright stuff! Original charries are mine, please don't steal! Read and review!*  
  
"Silence," chapter 6  
  
Journeys  
  
Tzaaki easily made her way to Short Hop's den. She coughed out a greeting in Universal and waited for the raptor to come out.  
  
"Tzaaki! What brings you here?" Short Hop asked, coming out into the dappled sunlight.  
  
"I am going to Chandara. Can you prepare me some rations of dried and smoked meats and fruits?" Tzaaki asked, excited about leaving.  
  
"Of course, of course. Wait just one moment." The raptor smiled and ducked back into his den. Emerging sooner than Tzaaki thought, he handed her a light sack.  
  
"Thank you so much!" She said.  
  
"What takes you to Chandara?" The raptor asked. "Is it another human friend?" Short Hop winked.  
  
"Oh. No, nothing like that. A human would like me to do something for him, and I just need to find out what." Tzaaki said, shaking the thoughts of loving a human out of her head.  
  
"Oh. All right. May your paths be clear." Short Hop bobbed his head.  
  
"Breathe deep, thank you" Tzaaki nodded hers, and left.  
  
She followed the Finger River away from the Polongo and into the foothills of the Forbidden Mountains. From there, the trail split, one branch going south towards the Blackwood Flats and another went east and into the mountains. Tzaaki took the former trail, which bent close to the Mountians, but never touched more than the foothills. As the Mountains passed to behind her, the Desert came upon her left, and the trail bent further away from it, and linked up to a large caravan road.  
  
When Tzaaki entered Chandara, she had been on the road for a week. 


	7. To Live and To Love

*A/N: I don't know why I titled this chapter what I did. It's just a nice little break from the story line to explain a little something about Jet and Kelli. I think I'll throw these in when I need to explain something about characters. And for clarification, when I said in a previous chapter that Yvonne was a Goth, and that was the reason that she was disliked, I didn't mean that she just belonged to that sub-culture. I meant that she was decended from the Goths, who invaded Rome at one point. I picture Sauropolis as a very Roman city, so maybe the dislike of the Goths still lingers. Thus we have Yvonne where she is now. I guess that'll be explained later.  
  
Kitsunia, thanks for your reviews! Hope this one is long enough for you! ^-^*  
  
"Silence," chapter 7  
  
To Live and To Love  
  
Back in Chandara, Jet and Kelli had finished up practice in the late evening at the Karate studio where they trained. Upon returning to the warehouse, they found more people than usual.  
  
"Bran. Who're these folks?" Kelli asked.  
  
"People from Sauropolis. They're just as crazy as us. I like them." Andraste said with a smile.  
  
"Ah. Okay, well I'm Kelli, this is Jet. We're tired and hungry so we're gonna hit the bath house and head home for some food. We'll see you all in the morning." Kelli smiled, waved, turned and left.  
  
"Yeah. See ya'all." Jet said, following Kelli.  
  
They left and went back a few streets and alleys to an older rowhouse that Jet called home. Kelli frequently stayed with him in the house. On the outside, the paint peeled and the mason-work was chipping away. Inside, it was much better looking. Jet shared the house with a family who only used the house when they came to Chadara to visit family, otherwise, they lived in Prosperine. Jet's room was on the second floor and was very spacious. He had a punching bag hanging from the ceiling and mats on the floor. His large nest bed was in the corner of the room, under the window.  
  
Kelli and Jet tossed their bags on the floor, went to the closet and pulled out their bath stuff, and fresh clothes. Kelli didn't live with Jet officially, but stayed over enough to be counted as living there. They left to go to the bath house then a late-night cafe.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kelli was a dolphinback from the United States, specifically, Montana. She grew up on a large homestead with many horses and open places to roam, but she liked to go into the town and be with people. When she graduated, her parents sent her on a cruise, and there she met Jet, a charming young surfer from Perth, Australia. They quickly became friends, and rarely did anything without each other. When, in the middle of the night, a storm came out of nowhere and blew the ship off-course and killed all equipment on board, they ran to the deck and hid there. They both prefered to not have the entire ship collapse in on them.  
  
The ship ran aground on the coral reefs surrounding Dinotopia. Kelli, hid her face against against Jet's shoulder, but the once time she peeped out, they faced the island, which was being lashed with rain, but in the faint distance, the rising sun lit the clouds with red. As she watched a distant sun rise, the ship heaved, and she and Jet were thrown overboard. Jet hit his right shoulder on a peice of reef, and Kelli slit her left knee on the sharp edge of a rock. A current took them, and pulled them away from the sinking ship as an explosion tore the ship apart, sending peices flying in all directions. Jet tried to break away from current, but gave up, as his shoulder complained when he moved. Instead, they relaxed and let the current take them far from the accident site. After what seemed like hours in the ocean water, a dolphin surfaced beneath both of them and pulled them into a calm harbor. Jet pulled himself and a faint Kelli onto the beach. She had lost a lot of blood from the cut in her knee, which was about three inches in length and went to the bone. Somehow, it completely missed all the important tendons. She passed out first, Jet fell asleep from exhaustion soon after.  
  
When they woke up, they were in a white room together on a comfortable bed. Kelli's knee had been cleaned, stitched, and bandaged, and Jet's shoulder had been bandaged and his arm set in a sling. On a table nearby were two glasses of water. Kelli struggled to sit up, took one of the glasses and sipped from it before handing it over to Jet, who sat up as well.  
  
"Jet. Where are we?" She asked, her voice scratchy.  
  
"I don't know. Why?" Jet answered, sounding much like a frog.  
  
"Because there is a dinosaur over there." Kelli pointed to the corner where a small saurian waited for them.  
  
"Um. That worries me. We're seeing the same hallucination." Jet said, taking another sip of the water. Kelli took the glass from his hand and took another sip.  
  
"Oh our patients are awake. Are you in any pain?" Someone said. A blonde in a nurse's outfit approached them with a smile.  
  
"No, not right now." Kelli said. "Where are we?"  
  
"You are in Chandara. But you shouldn't worry about that now. Are you hungry at all?" The nurse smiled, gently checking their wounds.  
  
"Not right now." Jet said.  
  
"Me either." Kelli shook her head. "Ouch!" She yelped when the nurse touched the area around her knee.  
  
"You're both badly bruised. But you, somehow, managed to cut your knee open, but miss all the major tendons in there." The nurse said, patting Kelli's other knee. "I'll let you both be. Ring this bell if you need anything." She set a large cowbell on the table next to the bed.  
  
Jet got out of bed and walked to the window that was next to their bed. Looking out, he saw that he was definitely not in Australia. Just based on the architecture, he thought they might be in Hong Kong or some Asian country. The buildings, on average, were very low, and made of either wood or masonry, which was elegant. In the center of his view was a large Japanese-style pagoda that towered 5 stories above the hospital where they were staying. But they couldn't be in Asia, the nurse didn't look Asian. Unless they hired an American or British.  
  
"Kelli, if you could walk, I'd tell you to get over here." Jet said, in awe of the city. "I think we might be in Hong Kong or something."  
  
"But how do you explain the dinosaur?" Kelli mumbled. She was tired still, and her knee had started to throb.  
  
"Statue maybe." Jet turned and shrugged. "It hasn't moved."  
  
"Maybe. I'm tired. Goodnight." Kelli said, laying back down on the bed, and pulling the sheet over her.  
  
"I'm going to explore. See you later." He walked over, kissed Kelli's forehead, and left the room.  
  
The door of their room opened direction into a small courtyard, in the center of which was a large fountain with saurians and humans spitting water. Sitting on the ledge was a bipedal dinosaur. Jet panicked, and went back into the room.  
  
"Hey Kelli, there *are* dinosaurs here. There's one out by the fountain there!" Jet said, paling slightly.  
  
"A real dinosaur? You have got to be kidding me!" Kelli snorted, sitting up again. She had just gotten to sleep when Jet came back.  
  
"I swear. It was reading something by a fountain." Jet said, coming back to the bed.  
  
"Come back and lay down. Maybe you've got a fever and are delirious." Kelli laid back down.  
  
"Maybe I am. Though, I don't feel like I have a fever." Jet said, crawling back into the bed, being careful of Kelli's knee.  
  
Kelli reached out and touched his forehead then hers. "Nope. Maybe you need more sleep." She put her head down and fell back asleep.  
  
"Night then." Jet said.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A few days later, they were getting accustomed to the dinosaurs and the nurse had been telling them of the ways of Dinotopia, and had even gotten them a tutor. Kelli's knee was healing fast, and she was up and walking around with the assistance of a crutch. They took small trips into the city and learned more on their walks. The residents were very interested in hearing about all the technology and troubles in the Outside World. Frequently, they shook their heads and said, "Isn't it nice we don't live in a world of strife."  
  
As the days passed, Kelli started to re-gain the use of her knee, and the nurse wanted her to enlist in some sort of physical therapy. Instead of taking an instructor at the hospital, she found a Karate studio to her liking and signed up there. Jet signed up as well. She was delighted to find that it taught American Kenpo, but under the name change of Dinotopian American Kenpo, founded on the island by Chad DiPilco. She had never heard of the man, but found that the system was much like what she studied in the Outside World. She picked up the changes fast, and advanced quickly.  
  
Jet, however, had to start from scratch, but with the help of Kelli, he advanced a little faster than a few other pupils at the studio. It was at the studio that Jet and Kelli first came across Bran, who invited them to hang out with his group. Jet moved into his current house, and Kelli moved into a house not too far from him. They hung out with the group at the warehouse, and became accepted as one of the group, despite disappearing for hours on end to train.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Jet and Kelli grabbed their bath things and made their way to the bath house. Kelli still bore a large scar on her knee, but was okay with people seeing it now. As the two soaked in a warm tub, they discussed the events of the day as only old friends would. 


	8. Civilization and Thoughts

*A/N: Another awkward chapter, but it's nice and long! Minus this thing, it's 5 pages long. Yay! Sorry for the lack of recent updates, it was midterm week last week, and it just about killed me. Well, same old copyright stuff still applies and all that jazz. Plz R&R*  
  
"Silence," chapter 8  
  
Civilization and Thoughts  
  
Tzaaki sent a messenger to Anthony when she got into the city. The city was a frightening place for her. The only human constructions she had seen since her adoption were the shrines in and around the Basin, and the ruins of ancient temples.  
  
Looking down, she found herself on a path, but it wasn't wild and overgrown. Instead, the path was straight and narrow, lined with tall buildings that loomed to the height of her father and mother at times. The streets were cobbled and swept clean, and they lacked the sounds of the wild forests. Small, nicely kept trees were planted at intervals, and from the branches, small songbirds hopped and sang. Tzaaki shuddered at the cleanliness of the city and walked slowly down the street. She heard the far-off voices of saurians and humans together, apparently at market.  
  
She was saved from making more human contact by Anthony hurrying down the street to greet her.  
  
"Welcome to civilization." Anthony said.  
  
"I've been around humans before." Tzaaki spat. "This place is so...clean."  
  
"Yes, well, this is where lots of humans live, and we're not in the wild anymore." He paused and looked her over. "Come with me. We can get you some fresh clothes, good food, and hot bath." He turned and started walking down the street.  
  
"Ooh. I haven't had a hot bath for a long time. Mother rarely takes us to the hot spring." Tzaaki smiled and caught up to Anthony.  
  
They walked in silence for a distance.  
  
"It's been a long time for you, hasn't it?" Anthony broke the silence.  
  
"Huh?" Tzaaki looked sharply at Anthony.  
  
"Being in a human settlement. It's been a long time for you." Anthony said, waving to an elderly woman sweeping the steps of a row house.  
  
"Yes." Tzaaki looked at the ground. "Sometimes, I question whether or not I am human or Giganotosaurus. And no, I don't eat raw meat. My mother was kind enough to find a raptor that could smoke meat and cook it for me until I was well. Then the raptor taught me all I needed to know about cooking the meat the father brought home."  
  
"I wasn't gonna ask you what you ate. I was gonna let you be the boss in that respect." He glanced at Tzaaki. "Want to run? I'll take you around the market-place."  
  
Tzaaki shrugged. "Sure." She took off at a light trot. Anthony quickly passed her, but was severely out of breath when he reached the warehouse. Tzaaki was breathing hard, but wasn't as bad as her male companion. "You really need to learn endurance."  
  
"Oh....shut..." He drew in a breath, held it, and exhaled. "Up." He opened the door to the warehouse and guided Tzaaki inside.  
  
"Everyone." Anthony said, still short of breath. "This is Tzaaki. She has agreed to provide the carnosaur help needed."  
  
Cassie, Chad, and Bran came up to inspect the newcomer.  
  
"Welcome to our lair." Andraste said, looking Tzaaki up and down. "You have the right proportions for Cassie and Slayer. Maybe they can help you get cleaned up, and get some food into you."  
  
"Hi, I'm Cassie, welcome to Chandara." Cassie said smiling.  
  
Chad looked Tzaaki over and walked back to where Yvonne was sitting.  
  
"Um, hi." Tzaaki said, looking slightly nervous. "I guess I'm going with you, Cassie."  
  
Cassie smiled and nodded. "Yep." Cassie turned and headed towards a different door. Slayer got up and followed, beckoning Tzaaki to follow, which she did.  
  
The two led her to a public bath house, and helped themselves in cleaning their hair and bodies before soaking in a bath. Tzaaki followed suit, the dust and mud sliding off her skin, which shone with a brilliance showing her family roots. She washed her hair and combed it straight, and then Cassie helped her tie it back.  
  
"We need to get your hair trimmed. You have split ends." Slayer mused while admiring the wild girl's personage. "And you are so beautiful for someone who has lived with the carnivores."  
  
"Thank you. Mother did tell me I was the most beautiful of all her children, despite me being human." Tzaaki said. She mumbled something in her language, a prayer of thanks for her deliverance to kind humans.  
  
"You have a family out there?" Slayer asked, intrigued.  
  
"Yes, I live with Standtall and his wife Firestorm. They adopted me and cared for me when their sons found me." She recounted her story. Slayer edged closer, excited by the sheer fantasy of the story.  
  
"Forgive me. I'm a dolphinback, and nothing exciting happens in the Outside." She rethought her statement. "Well, nothing like THAT ever happens there."  
  
"Nothing too exciting happens in the Basin, as well." Tzaaki shrugged. "There are scuffles between clans, but other than those, we live in relative peace."  
  
"I always thought that there were constant clan wars in the Basin, and that it wasn't safe." Slayer said, shifting to lean against the wall of the bath, looking sidelong at Tzaaki.  
  
"Well, for a human, yes it is dangerous, unless you are accompanied by a meat eater, or the Habitat Partner. Or if you are going to one of the temples in the forest." Tzaaki answered. "And gifts to appease those whose territory you cross are always welcome." She smiled.  
  
"So you aren't wild beasts?"  
  
"No. We're quite civilized. I just look wild and unkempt because I haven't gotten a proper bath in a long time."  
  
"I'm taking it you are fluent in Dinotopian and that Universal tongue thing you speak in?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Yes. I knew Dinotopian before I was adopted."  
  
"Okay, I'm turning into a raisin, so I'm getting out." Slayer said, standing up.  
  
"Me too." Tzaaki stood up. Slayer admired her strongly built, yet light frame and smiled. Tzaaki wrapped the fluffy towel around her body and waited for Cassie to get out.  
  
"You coming, Cassie?" Slayer asked.  
  
"Sure. Gimmie a few seconds." Cassie smiled at Slayer.  
  
"Alright, see ya soon." Slayer said.  
  
In the dressing room, Slayer handed a bunch of clothes to Tzaaki.  
  
"Here, these should fit you." She smiled. Tzaaki took the clothes and put them on. The shirt was a little too tight, but the skirt fit fine. Slayer looked her over and nodded in approval.  
  
"Very nice, Tzaaki. I guessed those would fit you." Cassie said from the doorway. She walked over to them, and inspected Tzaaki. "For living in the Basin for almost your whole life, you are beautiful."  
  
Tzaaki blushed and admired herself in a mirror.  
  
"C'mon, let's go get some food at my house." Slayer said, exiting the building, and turning down an alleyway that would lead them to her house.  
  
Slayer rented a room from a family and had turned it into her own private Outside World. The room was on the top floor, and had a high ceiling. Some of her CDs and posters had come up intact and were hung on the walls, and a few of the shirts that reminded her of the Outside were tacked to the wall. She had made a beaded curtain out of small blue beads, twine, and a few shells from the beach. In exchange for the room, she also cooked meals twice a week and did housework.  
  
"Wow, your room is quite large." Tzaaki commented, looking at the memorabilia on the walls.  
  
"Here, this is the best part." Slayer said, grinning and moving a bookcase to reveal a ladder going to the ceiling. She climbed it, unhinged something, and pushed a trap door open. Slayer disappeared for a moment out of the hole, then poked her head back in.  
  
"Come on up. I have roof access." She said.  
  
Tzaaki climbed the ladder quickly and climbed out onto the roof.  
  
"Wow. This is nice." Tzaaki said, looking across the rooftops.  
  
"I come here when I need time to think." Slayer said. "Come on, let's get some food. I don't know about you two, but I'm starved!"  
  
Slayer led the way into the kitchen, and pulled several things out of storage, and lit a fire beneath a cast-iron skillet. She mixed up a batter, and poured it into the skillet when it was hot enough, forming a large cake. She made three of these. She removed the fried cakes and set them aside as they finished cooking. Into the now hot skillet, she added some oil, and dumped in some half-cooked rice, and stirred the rice around until it began to fry. She then added water, put out half the fire beneath the skillet, and let the mixture simmer, adding a few vegetables and spices, and putting a lid on the skillet. To keep them warm, she put the fried cakes on top of the lid.  
  
"It'll be about 20 minutes before its ready, unless you want really soupy stuff." Slayer said, brushing some sweat away from her brow.  
  
"What was that?" Cassie asked.  
  
"A quick dish the family who lives here taught me. It's actually quite good." Slayer said. "They've taught me a lot of dishes, and I think I've taught them a few things. Like, before I came, they had never had pancakes. Sadly, I need eggs for that, so we've found a few chickens to keep in a communal yard outside of town."  
  
"Why sadly. We eat eggs when necessary." Tzaaki said.  
  
"No one normally eats eggs. Its sacrilege or something close to it." Cassie said. "By eating eggs, you are saying you don't mind destroying a future generation that has yet to be born."  
  
"But all in all, some must be sacrificed. It's a law of the wild, in order for some to live, some must die."  
  
Cassie started to get angry at the disrespect to the future in that statement, but kept her cool. Slayer sensed this, and checked the food. She put out the fire, and stirred the mixture. It was thick and goopy and lumpy. Putting the fried cakes onto a plate, she slopped a spoonful or two of the mixture into the center.  
  
"Here. Lets eat." Slayer said, ripping off a piece of the cake and scooping up some of the slop before eating it. Tzaaki smiled and followed suit.  
  
"Thanks. I've been running on empty for a while." Tzaaki said, popping some of the stuff in her mouth. "It's better than it looks, Slayer."  
  
Cassie took a bite. "Indeed."  
  
They ate in relative quietness and went back to the warehouse after they were done.  
  
At the warehouse, Andraste and Anthony were in a heated discussion over what could be done. Andraste kept calling Anthony's plans "pipe dreams" and saying that they could never work. Anthony wanted to tear down society, assassinate the Elders, and cause general fear and chaos. He asked Tzaaki to come along in order for her to lead in the carnivores in an attack against major cities. Andraste called this bunk. He said that in order to get what you needed, you had to brainwash citizens. However, Andraste enjoyed the idea of hiring the carnivores to cause havoc. He could use that to show that he is a leader they need. He could have them attack, and then stop them himself and command them back. Afterwards, he'd lie and say it was no trick and he has no association with them. It would be playing into people's fears, and building on the old legend of the boy who saved a town from an attack and stopped the carnivores in their tracks.  
  
Conversations between the two groups were less heated. Some of them began to doubt why they had begun to associate with the two boys, and questioned their practices. Chad and Yvonne were the ones who were apart from the group, sitting together in a far corner, discussing something deep.  
  
Slayer stepped out for some fresh air and cigarette. She looked up and admired the stars, which seemed to shine brighter than before. 'If Anthony or Bran has their way,' she thought to herself, taking a deep drag on the cigarette, 'then I may never see these stars the same. But the chance to see the Outside again is tempting.'  
  
"The same three beats of peace, revolution, and war repeat themselves in an endless waltz." Cassie said, coming up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's getting frightening in there. Outside is so much more peaceful." 


End file.
